Tuesday, 15 November 2011

I'm either going to have to shake things up or retire the weekend eats posts because we've had two of the same meals again. Thing is, when something is just so amazingly lovely, you do want to keep having it.

Chicken Goujons with Mozzarella Squares and Chilli Potato Wedges, and Red Pork with Chips and this time Pak Choi made their way back into this weekends meals. I'm actually getting a bit tired of the red pork to be honest, I love it, but I would like something different next weekend, but then I think of that sauce and I'm just drawn back in again.

I've always cooked since leaving home at 21, but since coeliac reared its ugly head I've had to become a lot more experimental. That's a good thing though, it's a challenge. I'm not a baker, I don't faff around making cakes and desserts because for me, there's a good enough gluten free range out there to buy ready made. What I love is to come up with really good home cooking that ticks all the boxes when it comes to quality ingredients and flavour combinations. Proper home cooked food that you would never know was for a special diet.

On the subject of desserts, I never made them prior to becoming a coeliac, and I was never a big dessert fan. That was up until three weeks ago, now you should see the contents of my fridge. I have become a dessert monster. Panna Cotta, Fool and Mousse, not to mention a few jellies waiting to be made up. No idea why but thankfully I have a treadmill should things get out of hand. These are all shop bought btw.

Anyway, we had Chili again on Saturday night. I'm one of those people who eat whilst cooking. I claim that it is in the spirit of taste testing and in a way it actually is, but I can't help myself with a big pot of chilli and a spoon. By the time I serve that meal, I've already eaten a decent sized portion.

I totally blame my mum, whenever she cooked a roast dinner there would always be a roast potato eaten from a fork before the rest of the veg came out of the oven. Then whilst she carved pork belly I would always be tempted with "see if it's cooked nice for me" offer that couldn't be refused. I always enjoy food more when I'm picking at it rather than when I'm presented with a plate full.

As a couple we don't eat meals together during the week, my OH likes to eat late and he's a real meat fan, lots of fillet steak and I don't eat red meat. That's why weekend meals are so special, it's proper 'family time'. Plus I get to be experimental. We didn't used to eat weekend lunches together because I would always have a huge amount of shellfish to devour and my beloved isn't into that so much. For a while now though we have been eating Saturday lunch together, but this weekend I scrapped the shellfish and we went all out.

It isn't a new meal, but again, it's a huge favourite: Sauteed Potatoes with King Prawns and Squid. It's a one pot wonder which I love and it's a total no brainer to cook. Absolute food heaven. Recipe and shock horror, photo will follow tomorrow!

I love gluten free convenience during the week after I've been working, but at weekends, I'd far rather cook up a storm with gorgeous ingredients than eat something that someone else has made.

I did try something else this weekend that was a bit of a blast from the past: Mushroom al la grecque. I used to get it at a deli but they stopped doing it. It's a cold dish that comprises of button mushrooms, white wine, lemon juice, tomato puree and herbs. I adapted a recipe that I found online but I'm not 100% with it. I haven't got the flavour balance spot on perfect yet.

And so my weekend eats ramble is over for another 7 days. I don't know why you guys read my ramblings, but I know that you do, statistics tell me so! Thanks for reading my rambles, I'll try to make them more varied, but, you know, when you've got your favourite meals, you've just got them.